The Dragon
by KaaMeow18
Summary: Sakura has been keeping a secret from almost everyone at Konoha. This is a secret she only let out a few years after Sasuke left. Determined to get stronger, Sakura finally breaks free just in time for the impending war that is about to happen.
1. Chapter 1: Her Growth

Hey, I'm new here, so don't flame me. This is actually an old story I wrote that I have only recently gotten around to completing. So some things will be out of character.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. That is Masashi Kishimoto's masterpiece.

Note: This is set two years after they saw Sasuke again. Sakura has remembered her past, and she also learned that she could perform all of the elements. She also has a powerful secret.

Chapter One: Her Growth

Konoha was in the middle of a battle. The Akatsuki had finally attacked. There were jounins and chunins of the like all over the place. The Rookie Nine were part of this too. All of them were battling in the same place, all but one. They call her the "dragon" of Konoha.

If someone were to pick their way through all the chaos and rubble to the opposite side of where the rookies were fighting, they would hear a very angry pink haired kunoichi fighting with her "ex" best friend. One had on a black tank top with the Haruno symbol on the back, and a mesh shirt underneath. Her tight black pants had a red dragon running down one leg, and her boots were a shade of maroon. She had a powerful chakra punch, which was less brutal on her hands because of her long black gloves. Her short pink hair was in a cool choppy style, with bangs hanging over her eyes. There was a tattoo that ran up her right arm in the shape of a dragon. This tattoo, when activated by chakra and spread all across the body, is very powerful. Her hypnotic green eyes, at this moment, were sparking with fierceness, anger, and determination.

The other girl, or woman, had on the traditional Akatsuki cloak. This cloak was black with red clouds. Her navy blue hair was in a short bob with a white lily flower stuck in it. She was pale skinned and had three rings in her ears, and one in her nose. Her dark green eyes were staring at her opponent with amusement, and a hint of wariness. Her name was Konan

"Heh, nice to see you again... my old _friend_," she said. Sakura glared, and spat, " I am no longer your friend Konan, you ruined that when you betrayed me! When you betrayed the Haruno's and tried to kill my sister!" Konan looked at her with anger in her eyes. "Humph, your family was always in my way of getting what I wanted. And what I wanted was to be the head of the Elemental village. I decided that the best way to eliminate my competition was to befriend one of the Haruno's. What a chance I had when little naive Sakura, the only weak link of the clan, came up to me and said hi in hopes of making a new friend! Unfortunately, I didn't succeed back then, so I got myself stronger by joining the Akatsuki, and here I am going to finally eliminate you, your family, and your little Konoha friends!"

Sakura was shaking by this point. "If you think I'm going to allow that to happen, then you are dead wrong. I will kill you, like I should have done back then, before you can lay a hand on anyone but me!" Konan smirked, "Is that so?", and disappeared. _Uh Oh,_ Sakura thought. She readied herself for any attack, and sure enough dozens of kunai came out at her from behind. She dodged, and hit every one of them back to where they came from with a single swipe of her hand. "Good dodge," Konan said "but see if you can dodge this." She started running at a very fast pace, that she was almost a blur, with a bunch of paper bombs in her hand. Sakura cocked her head; her hand was already glowing with chakra. Once she felt Konan was close enough she brought her chakra activated fist down on the ground. CRACK! The ground split in two sending Konan and her bombs flying. There was an explosion where they hit the ground. Sakura didn't stop there. She performed a water jutsu and filled the cavern she just created with water. She then appeared in a shower of petals about five feet behind Konan, who was still disoriented from the flying and the bombs, and created another jutsu. The jutsu this time was air. She brought her fingers up to her mouth and blew as hard as she could to send a hurricane like current Konan's way. This succeeded in making her fly into the water filled cavern. With her hair all windblown Sakura walked to the edge of the cavern and looked down. Konan was spluttering, and trying to stay afloat.

"Drat you, Sakura!" she screamed. "Are you shocked?" Sakura asked. "What is that supposed to mean!?" She smiled. "I hope you aren't too shocked, because I'm about to shock you even more." Once again she cast a jutsu, this time lightning style. It ran from her arms and hands into the water and traveled all over the place. Konan's eyes widened and she disappeared out of the water. _Rats, where did she go? _Sakura thought, feeling around with her chakra. She got her answer soon after when she had to quickly block an oncoming barrage of needles with an earth barrier. Sakura panted. _This is going to last a while, I may have to use my kekkei genkai!_


	2. Chapter 2: Her Transformation

Here is the second Chapter.

Once again I do not own Naruto.

Chapter Two: Her Transformation

Sakura stood there waiting for Konan to come out of the shadows. _If I have to use my kekkei genkai, _she thought, _I'm going to have to be quick about it. _She stood there for about five minutes but Konan never came out. _She didn't chicken out did she?_ Sakura soon found out that Konan did not chicken out. When Sakura looked down she saw a bunch of weeds snaking their way up her leg so slowly and sneakily that she didn't feel it. _Oh snap._ She quickly performed her last elemental jutsu, fire. She set her hands and feet ablaze and burned the weeds to dust. "Come out; come out, wherever you are Konan. I'm tired of playing hide and seek." Konan finally came out with a scowl on her face. "Just what are you? You keep spewing out different elements here and there, and I can't keep up with you!" Sakura smirked. "What am I? I am the best medic nin in Konoha, I am ANBU captain, I'm about to become one of the next legendary sannin, and I am the next in my clan to become the leader of the Elemental village!

"Shut up, shut up!" Konan screamed. "You know very well I should have gotten the post of leader, but no, your perfect little family has to be the one's to get it! I'm sick of it and I will attain what I desire!" She then started running at Sakura with a drawn sword. _It's time_. Sakura thought. She then quickly shut her eyes and sent her five different chakra lines all over her body.

If someone were to look towards Sakura, look away, and then look back towards her a second later, they would think they were imagining things. When Sakura sent her chakra out, her dragon tattoo started moving. It spread from her arm to her neck and torso, to her head and to her feet. Once it finished spreading all over her body it glowed a brilliant red. Sakura then started changing. Her hair grew longer with red highlights weaving through her pink tresses. Her hands and feet started growing claws where her toes and fingers should have been. Her skin turned a light pink, and she grew a spiky tail. Looking more closely there was a hint of smoke coming out of her nose, and her eyes turned more of a yellowish green color with slanted pupils. Last but not least, she grew black bat shaped wings. Some people, if they didn't run away from her, would recognize the features immediately to be that of a human dragon. Others would understand how she could turn into such a thing.

With her new and improved eyesight, she could see Konan falter at what was now in front of her. _Good, I scared her, now I must hurry with this. _Sakura disappeared right when Konan was going to stab her. She looked around wildly but couldn't find Sakura. "Now, who's playing hide and seek?" she said mockingly, albeit, a bit nervously. "_I'm not playing hide and seek." _Konan looked around wildly again. "Where are you!?" _"What, you can't recognize a genjutsu when you're in one? Humph, I am everywhere. I am above, behind, below, and even in your mind. Dragon's have a tendency to like being in different places at once." __Sakura moved in correspondence to what she was saying, confusing her opponent._Konan was now even more scared. "I don't believe this! I can't cancel the genjutsu!"

"That is because you are too weak to cancel a fifth level genjutsu." "Huh?" Konan looked up. There in a tree was Sakura staring down at her with those yellow eyes. Then, without warning, she attacked. Konan found herself flat against a tree in the next second. She was hypnotized. "Now, do you still want to be the Elemental head? Do you want to become what I am, because this is the kekkei genkai, or curse as I call it, that all Haruno's develop on their sixteenth birthday. It is essential to the clan protection, and I think you can see why." Konan then glared at her. "I don't care what I become, I want to rule over the Elemental village, and all the rest too!" Sakura growled in her throat. "I'm afraid I can't allow that. Goodbye Konan." She then leaned forward and bit Konan in the throat with her fangs. Konan screamed, and struggled, which just succeeded in ripping her throat open even more. After five seconds Konan went limp, never to be seen, or heard of again.

Sakura jerked back, panting. She grinned. _Finally, my mission is accomplished, now to get back to others. _Sakura let her chakra fade back to one spot changing her back to normal, with the exception of the dragon tattoo on her arm. She looked up, because she could feel the "pig's" chakra coming her way at a fast pace. _Heh, she must be coming to drag me back to the real fight. I wonder how they are doing._ Sure enough Ino came into sight and started panting when she stopped in front of Sakura. "Forehead girl, where have you b... Oh, yuck, don't tell me you changed into that dragon just to get rid of her!" "I had to, Ino Pig." Sakura said. "She was very difficult to get rid of." "Oh well, at least that's one Akatsuki member gone. Now let's get back to the others before the fight gets really bad."

They started hopping through trees back to the main village. While they were going, however, Sakura looked back. She could not feel it anymore, but she could have sworn she felt someone watching her the whole time she was fighting.


	3. Chapter 3: His Rampage

**Third chapter here. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter Three: His Rampage

When Sakura and Ino finally got back to the main village they could see a whole lot more damage than when they left. "If this goes on much longer there isn't going to be anything left of the village." Sakura exclaimed. "I agree with you, but for now, don't you think you better go see what that strange chakra is?" "Huh?" Sakura tried to see through all the smoke, and rubble. She felt more than she saw, a powerful chakra coming from somewhere in the middle. Sakura's eyes widened. She knew that deadly chakra! "Ino, take care of the injured, I have to stop Naruto before his fourth tail evolves and he kills everyone!" Sakura didn't wait for her to respond, she was off like a comet through the smoke. _Please don't let Naruto hurt anyone before I can get there, it'll take me forever to heal them. I should know._ She looked down at her shoulder. The wound she got two years ago from Naruto was faint, but still there.

Once Sakura finally got to the scene where the chakra was coming from she gasped. Naruto was already on his third tail, and it looked like he got rid of half of the enemies. That was a good sign, but that is not what she had gasped at. In front of Naruto was Hinata, who was trying to stop him. Naruto didn't recognize anybody at this point and he was about to hit her with one of his tails. At this point Hinata's love for Naruto could cost her the rest of her life. **"HINATA NO"!** Sakura screamed. She started running towards them. Hinata and foxy Naruto both looked toward her. Naruto started to swing his tail, but before he could hit either of the girls, Sakura pushed Hinata out of the way, while barely dodging him herself. "What are you trying to do, Hinata? I know you love him, but you should know better to stay out of his way when he's like this." "B, b, but..." "No but's, I need you to stay still while I try to get this seal on him." She held out a rectangular piece of paper with the word "seal" in kanji on it.

After she showed Hinata the seal, she turned around to analyze when would be a good time to get the seal on Naruto. When she saw he was turned in a different direction she jumped through his tails and landed on his back. She hissed. His chakra was so strong it was already starting to burn her, so she quickly placed the seal on his head and hopped down, with a stream of chakra trailing after her. _I better toughen my arm up, because this is going to take awhile._ About thirty minutes later Sakura could see a change in Naruto. His roars were turning to yells, and his chakra was turning back to skin, albeit very red and burnt skin. _Oh, thank goodness. I don't think I could hold my arm up for much longer. _Finally, the last trace of red chakra disappeared into the seal, held up by Sakura's chakra, and went back to her hand. She did a few hand seals and it disappeared.

Sakura walked up to Naruto, who was lying on the ground in a burnt heap. _He looks horrible; I don't think we have time to get him to the hospital._ She looked around. Hinata was standing in the same spot, looking on anxiously. "Do you still want to help Hinata?" Said person jumped. "A, ano...hai." Sakura smiled. "Then go find Ino, she is the only other medic nin strong enough to help me heal Naruto." "Hai, I will." She then ran off. Sakura turned back to Naruto, inspecting him. "Sigh, Naruto you baka, what made you so angry it caused you to turn into the nine-tails?" There was no answer. Sakura got to work looking for any internal damage, and then started to heal his skin. A few minutes later Hinata came running back with Ino in tow. "Sorry it took so long, forehead girl, I had to finish healing Shikamaru." "What happened to him?" "He took a blow to the side with Hidan's long three pronged scythe." "Weird, I thought Hidan was slow in that aspect, at least Shikamaru's alright." "Yeah" Ino blushed, then asked "What did you want me to do?" "I want you to help me heal Naruto's legs. I know the nine-tails helps him heal fast, but this will speed up the process even more." Ino nodded. "I got it."

They got to work healing Naruto, with Hinata holding his head in her lap. They were talking medical mumbo jumbo that Hinata could not for the life of her, understand. She did catch the part where he should be awake and back to his old self in about an hour though. That gave her hope that he would be alright. _Naruto..._she thought affectionately.

Several minutes later they saw the rest of the rookie nine come up to them. "Well, we finally beat all the Akatsuki. How's Naruto?" Kiba asked. "He should be fine in an hour." Sakura told him. "Yosh, he should be. The power of youth shall awaken him!" exclaimed Lee joyously. Everyone sweat dropped at this. Soon there was someone else who came. This time it was an ANBU. "Excuse the interruption everyone, but the Hokage would like the three ANBU captains to go see who these intruders are. There seems to be three of them. Here are their descriptions: A tall, orange haired one, one with sharp teeth, and a woman with red hair." Sakura, Neji, and Shikamaru looked at each other and nodded. "Ino continue taking care of Naruto. If he should awaken before we get back tell him where we are." Sakura said. She then left for the main gates with the other two ANBU captains.


	4. Chapter 4: Their Arrival

**Chapter 4.**

**Disclaimer: You all should know this by now. I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter Four: Their Arrival

While the three ANBU's got closer to the main gates, they discussed between themselves, how they were going to find out who the three intruders were. "I have a vague idea of who they might be," said Shikamaru "but, I'm not going to jump to conclusions." Neji nodded. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but it is best not to jump to conclusions, until we find out if they are friend or foe." "Hai, that's exactly the reason why I am going to stay back a bit." The other two looked at Sakura, confused. "I will observe them, how they act, and if they look like they are going to attack. If they do, I can be your backup, and if they don't, I will come down and interrogate them myself." "Good idea, Sakura. I will activate my byakugan, just to see if they brought any others with them waiting in the shadows to strike. If i don't find anything, I'll deactivate it. Sound good to you Shikamaru?" He sighed. "What a drag. I suppose I could ask them their origins, but I'd rather be at home, asleep." Neji shook his head, and Sakura faintly smiled.

When they got to the gate, there indeed, were three people. It looked like two burly looking men and a woman. Sakura nodded to the other two and retreated to the shadows of a nearby roof. From there, she saw Neji and Shikamaru land in front of the intruders. They were an odd bunch, but they seemed familiar somehow.

The tallest guy, the one with orange hair, seemed to be the kindest of the three. He had light brown eyes, and sharp facial features. At first glance, he seemed pretty scary, what with his height of 8.2 and his spiky hair. His clothes were simple: Orange trousers, and a gray tunic. What made Sakura think of him as kind though, was not his eyes or his face. It was the way he held himself. He had faded his chakra, unlike the other two, and he even smiled and offered his hand to the two captains. Yet, she had a feeling that he had another side to him, an evil side that he could not control.

She then looked at the next guy. At first, all she could see was purple. He had on a dark purple tank top with a light lavender stripe running horizontally through the middle of it. His pants were black with a purple lightning shape running down one leg. His boots were even purple! Sakura thought his silvery purple hair looked like a girl's. It was long and shaggy, but well groomed for a guy. Now, that she got past all the purple, she found he had sort of a shark like appearance. When he smiled, he showed off his teeth, which were long and sharp, in a triangular shape. His skin was so pale, it was almost grey, and his charcoal eyes were predatory. She saw what looked suspiciously like Zabuza's sword on his back. He must be one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Turning her eyes away from Mr. Purple, she then looked at the last and only woman. She then thought she would rather look at all that purple. In simple terms, she was ugly. Her blood red hair was uneven. It was long and straight on one side, and short and layered on the other side. Her red eyes would be pretty if they weren't covered by those big square spectacles. Her lavender shirt was half open on the bottom, with long sides, showing her belly button. Her black shorts looked more like daisy dukes. They didn't come halfway to her knees, and her boots didn't go well with that outfit at all. To Sakura, she looked like a wannabe...she didn't even know.

She now focused less on their looks, and more on the conversation that was going on. From what she could tell, it looked like they didn't want to tell Neji and Shikamaru their names without knowing theirs first. Sakura raised an eyebrow. Didn't they know that in the ninja world you are always supposed to introduce yourself before you command to know somebody else's name? They did not look like they were posing a threat, and Neji had turned off his byakugan, so she thought it safe to go down there and get their names herself. She decided to let herself be known.

"It is proper for a ninja to tell another their name before they ask for someone else's." Sakura said. The three unknown ninja looked up, shocked to see her there. The woman finally said something. "Who are you to order us around? You don't look like a ninja. You look more like a pink haired freak." Sakura's eyes narrowed. The next thing the red haired girl knew, Sakura was right in front of her. "I will let that comment slide if you tell me your name and theirs." The red head snorted. "Why should I tell you my name?" "Because, if you don't I shall be forced to punch you all the way through those gates and back to where you came from." She lifted up a chakra covered hand for emphasis. "Heh, I like this girl." said the purple guy. The woman glared at him. "Shut up, Suigetsu." Sakura's eyes widened. She looked at Neji and Shikamaru, they nodded to her. So that's why these people looked so familiar. They were Sasuke's new team. Team Hawk or Taka was the name. "I think I know who you are," she said. Karin laughed at her. "Oh really now? Try me then. Who am I?"

Sakura smirked. "You are the Uchiha's new team. Team Hawk. The tall orange haired guy is Jugo. He has the curse seal, and converts into an evil person who likes to kill. Only the Uchiha can control him." She looked at Jugo while she said this. He looked stunned. She then turned to Mr. Purple. "You are Suigetsu. Known to turn to water to defend yourself from physical attacks, yet are in danger of electricity. You also want to acquire all the seven Legendary Swords of the Mist. You have Zabuza's on your back, and only lack Kisame Hoshikage's. I'll tell you this, he is already dead." Suigetsu looked a little disappointed, but then perked up again at this news. He would finally have all the swords!

Lastly, she turned to the woman. "You are Karin. You are a fan girl who is worse than Ino, a fan of the Uchiha so I perceive. You are known to have good chakra control. You can spot a team of eight ninja, even a dog, coming your way. If this was so, though, why didn't you notice me on the rooftop?" Karin was glowering by now. "For your information, I wasn't paying attention at that very moment. These two goons here intercepted us from our mission." Sakura furrowed her brow. "Mission?" "Hai that is the only thing we got out of her." Sakura looked back at Shikamaru. "It turns out; they were sent here for a message for you." "WHAT!" shrieked Karin. "That pink haired freak is the Haruno? This can't be! How can Sasuke-kun even have an interest in, let alone know, her!" Sakura glared at her. "Yes, on the contrary, I am Sakura Haruno. Yes the Uchiha knows me, because I was on Team 7 with him and Naruto. I daresay I even know your "dear _Sasuke-kun_" better than you do. Karin started turning red in the face. "How dare you assume that... that..." Sakura ignored her and turned to the other two. "Since your so-called teammate wants to harp on about the Uchiha, will one of you kindly restrain her before she blows up, and tell me what the message was?" Suigetsu grinned his sharky grin. "Sure, sure Pinky, whatever you wish." He then went and sprayed Karin with his water, causing her to shut up immediately and glare at Suigetsu. Jugo then proceeded to speak. "Sasuke-san watched your fight with that blue haired girl, and he wants you to join our team. He thinks you could be a good asset at getting around traps, and getting into places, like the Akatsuki base for instance. It turns out you didn't kill all the Akatsuki."

Everyone was silent during this speech. Neji and Shikamaru both looked stunned. Suigetsu just grinned, and Karin looked murderous. Sakura was the most shocked of all. She just stood there and stared at Jugo. _He wants me on his team? He was the one who was watching me during that fight with Konan earlier? He finally noticed me? NO! No, no no. Don't get your hopes up Sakura; he just thinks you'll be a good asset to his team. You should know better than that. It's tempting, but I'm going to have to decline. I need to keep up my uncaring facade, and besides, I don't want to be heartbroken by someone who doesn't even care, again._

Sakura looked at Team Hawk. "I'm sorry but I have no interest in joining your team." Jugo and Suigetsu looked sad while Karin looked jubilant. "You can tell the Uchiha to find someone else to help him. I was available a long time ago but now I have better things to do. Sorry, you had such a waste of a trip. To make it up to you, there is a hotel not far from here that you can stay in for the night. They will provide food. After that you may go back to Sound or wherever you came from. I must get back to the main village. Naruto is sure to be awake by now. Goodbye." She then turned around and left with Neji and Shikamaru leaving a stunned Team Hawk in her wake.


	5. Chapter 5: Her Confliction

**I hope you all have liked my story so far. It is getting difficult to **

**think of anything to type. Oh well. I'll manage.**

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

Chapter Five: Her Confliction

On their way back to Naruto and the others, Sakura tried not to think of what had just passed. She wasn't so successful, because her mind kept going back to it, no matter how much she tried to avoid it. _Stupid, stupid, stupid…you should have went with them. That way you could see Sasuke-kun again. No, he would probably just call me annoying and avoid me again. This was for the best Sakura; you must maintain your mask._ She didn't like this thought too much though, and she was about to go into a state of depression. Her teammates looked at her with sympathy, thinking it best not to say anything.

She wasn't able to stay in a depression long, for the call she knew so well brought her up from her down. Sakura looked up and smiled, forgetting, for the moment, her dilemma. There was Naruto running to her and yelling. "SAKURA-CHAN!" The blonde ran and glomped her, almost knocking her down. Sakura sighed. "I see you're back to your usual cheerful self Naruto." "YES I AM, AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU!" He then proceeded to hug her even harder. The others walked up to them and Tenten rolled her eyes. "You don't have to scream it to the whole world you knucklehead." During this little speech Hinata was watching Naruto and Sakura. Her eyes widened. Apparently Naruto was hugging Sakura a little too tight, because she was now turning blue. "A...ano...N...Naruto-kun?" Said boy looked around at her. "Yes, Hinata-chan?" "I... I don't think Sakura can breathe." "Huh?" He looked back at Sakura and found she was indeed turning purple by now. "AHH, I"M SORRY SAKURA-CHAN!" He hastily let go causing Sakura to fall to the ground.

Panting, she stood back up and glared at Naruto, and then she bonked him on the head. "Naruto, you baka! You didn't have to squeeze me so tight." Holding his head, he only smiled at her sheepishly. Sakura just shook her head. _Same old Naruto…even if he's just gotten out of a battle, he still manages to act like a knucklehead. _She smiled. _He wouldn't be our Naruto though, if he wasn't a knucklehead._ The others seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Sakura, because they all shook their heads and grinned at Naruto to.

"Well, it is nice to see so many smiling faces after a battle as hard as this one." The rookie nine all turned to see who the source of the voice was. It was the hokage, Tsunade. "I am proud of you all, I should promote all of you to ANBU level, but I know some of you don't want that." She looked toward Choji and Ino as she said this. "That's not what I'm here to talk to you about though, the village needs repairing." "So you're saying you want us to help rebuild the village tomorrow, instead of going on missions?" asked Kiba. Tsunade nodded. "I don't think there will be too many missions any time soon Kiba, the village is top priority right now. I know today has been tiresome for you, that is why I'm sending all of you to bed early. Get a good night's rest, and be ready to start work in the morning. Sakura, I want to talk to you for a minute, the rest of you are dismissed." They nodded and left.

Sakura looked at Tsunade. "What did you want to talk to me about?" "First of all, I want to know why you went off and fought an Akatsuki member by yourself." Sakura looked down, then back up at Tsunade. "I informed you about a year ago of my past, and how I remembered it. Well, Konan was the one who tried to kill my family for the post of leader. I didn't know she had become an Akatsuki member and when I saw her that just made me angrier, so I confronted her. She left and I had to follow her. That's how I ended up on the other side of Konoha." Tsunade looked grave. "You could have been killed Sakura, and you know you're like a daughter to me. I'm just glad you mastered that dragon form kekkei genkai of yours." Sakura smiled at that. "The other thing I wanted to talk to you about was the three visitors you just went to see about. Who were they and what did they want?"

Sakura's smile slid off her face. Memories of that encounter now came flooding back to her making her sad again. She told the story to Tsunade though, to the best of her ability. She told her about how they would not tell Neji and Shikamaru their names and she had to go down and drag it out of them. She told her how they looked and acted, and then about the information they had for her. Tsunade's eyes widened at the part where Sasuke supposedly found her good enough to join team Hawk. She then got angry but didn't show it to Sakura. "Well, that is an interesting story, but I'm glad you declined it. Are you alright?" "Yes, I'm alright Tsunade; it just came as a shock to me that's all." The hokage nodded. "I have one favor to ask of you, and then I shall not impose upon your rest any longer." Sakura cocked her head. "What's that Tsunade?" "Tomorrow, instead of helping out rebuilding with the others I would like you to help me with the patients." "I shall be pleased to do that Tsunade." She nodded, relieved. "Very well then, you are dismissed." She then disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Sakura walked home.

That night, after she showered and got dressed for bed, Sakura sat on her window seat looking up at the stars. She thought over all the day's events, starting with the fight with Konan, then getting Naruto back to normal, and lastly, Team Hawk. _It has been a very long day. I wouldn't be surprised if we were all tired in the morning, no matter how much sleep we got. _Sakura thought. Her thoughts then turned over to Sasuke. She didn't know how she should feel after finding out he watched her fight. The conclusion, she supposed, didn't turn out too well. Why would I want to join Team Hawk when they already have four perfectly good ninja? If she were to see any of the members of team hawk again she would just have to turn around and go in the other direction. No matter how much she wanted to know of Sasuke's condition._ This stinks; all I want to do is go with them and at least catch a glimpse of Sasuke. I can't do that though, because if he thinks I'm still a fan girl he would probably send me away, or worse, leave me again._ She thought of that night he left and how silly she acted then. She should have known he would reject her, but no she had to go and confess her love to him!

Sakura could feel tears starting to come to her eyes. _Weird, I haven't cried in almost two years, why now? Why does anything considering Sasuke always do this to me? _She decided to just let her tears run down her face for awhile. About an hour later she wiped her red and puffy eyes and got into bed. She was so tired that, when she closed her eyes, she fell asleep immediately. Tomorrow she would once again have that emotionless mask on. Tomorrow she would not think about Sasuke, if she had to say anything she would call him "Uchiha-san". Tomorrow she would be healing the ones who got wounded in the fight. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.


	6. Chapter 6: Their Teacher

**Hope you all are liking it so far. Here is Chapter six. **

**Naruto is not mine. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Chapter Six: Their Teacher

The next morning the sun rose, illuminating a sleeping figure. She was sound asleep until she was awakened by an irritating noise. _Tap tap tap...tap tap tap. _There was a bird tapping on her window. The figure groaned and threw the closest thing she could find, her kunai, toward the source of the sound. The bird just flew above it and started tapping on the window again. _Darned bird, _the figure thought, _what does it want at this time of the morning? _She got up, revealing the disheveled pink head of Sakura Haruno, hobbled over to the window, and opened it. The bird flew in and dropped a letter on her head then flew off. Sakura grumbled picking the letter off her head. _It had to do __all that tapping just to fly in a drop a letter on my head. Oh well, at least it wasn't bird droppings. _She opened the letter and looked at its contents. It went something like this:

**Sakura,**

**Don't hurt the bird! I know I am contacting you a little earlier than I had planned but the patients seem to be getting worse by the hour. The nurses don't have enough experience to handle it. This is why I need you to come in as soon as you can. We can't afford to lose anymore ninja. Check yourself first though; I don't want you running out of chakra in the middle of healing someone. See you in a few.**

**Tsunade**

Sakura sighed and got into the shower. She checked herself for any chakra shortage. She had none; it had regenerated while she was asleep. The only thing that was wrong was that she was tired. Yesterday had drained her energy more than anything else. The shower helped her wake up a little bit though, because when she stepped out she no longer felt disoriented. Hastily, she put on a red pair of shorts and a white tank top with some blue sandals. Her white medic coat went on over those. There was no time to get decked out like she was yesterday. Checking that she had everything she needed she left the house, and locked the door behind her.

In the space of about ten seconds she was at the hospital. Having supersonic dragon speed definitely had its perks. The lady behind the desk greeted her good morning and checked her in. Sakura asked her where Tsunade was, and she told her. She thanked her and proceeded to room nineteen on the third floor, where she presumed Tsunade was. When she walked in the room, there was Tsunade, bending over a man who had a bloody gash all the way up his chest. Tsunade looked up. "Ah, there you are Sakura; I need you to help me mend up this wound." Sakura nodded and walked up to them. The man looked pretty bad. It wasn't just his chest that was bleeding. He had a black eye, and a scar running down his cheek. His hair looked like it had been cut half off with a sword, just barely missing his head. Looking down lower Sakura saw his legs were all mottled and bruised, and his arm was broken. It looked like he had been through a grinder and back twice.

Her eyes softening with sadness, Sakura sent chakra to her hands, making them glow a soft green. She placed her hand upon his chest she starting sealing up his wound. Tsunade told her that he could not move, so he would have to stay in the hospital for a few more days. Nodding her head Sakura could already see progress in the healing.

The rest of her day was about the same way. She had to heal a lot more people who had gotten so bad that the regular nurses couldn't heal them. By five that evening Sakura was sitting at her office desk, exhausted. _This was more tiresome than I thought. The nurses don't seem to be good for anything. There is not enough medic nins like me, and if we don't get anymore, I may have to start training some people myself. _She thought about who would be good for the job. _Hinata would probably faint at the sight of blood. Tenten is more of a fighter than a healer. Temari lives too far away, and besides she doesn't want anything to do with handling injured bodies. Gaara and Kankuro are handful enough for her. Hmm, Ino is probably the only one that could advance to medic nin level. She has already trained under me, so I think she can handle a little more rigorous training._

Her mind made up, Sakura went to Tsunade's office. She knocked when she got there. Before Tsunade told her to come in, Sakura heard the sounds of sake being hastily put back up. She shook her head, and decided she wouldn't mention anything about that. "Enter." The gruff voice of Tsunade sounded inside her office. Sakura went in and stopped in front of her desk. "Sakura!" "What in the world brings you here; you are done for the day." Sakura nodded. "I know that. I just wanted to ask your permission on something." The hokage's eyes narrowed. "Ask my permission for what exactly?" "Well, you know as well as I do of the scarcity of medic nins. It can be a bit tiresome, like it was today, and I was thinking of training someone to become a medic nin myself. It shouldn't be too much trouble since she has already had experience with my training."

Tsunade stared at her, contemplating what she just said. She then smiled. "I think that is a great idea Sakura, I have no problem with it. I assume you mean Ino don't you?" "Hai, if she will agree to my request, and you give us some time off to train." "If she happens to agree I will give you three hours everyday to train her in the higher degrees of the medic field. Plus I want you to teach the other girls something as well." Sakura looked confused. "What would that be Tsunade-shishou?" "In place of teaching Ino how to maintain chakra control I want you to teach the girls how to control their chakra element since you have all of them." Sakura's eyes widened. "Are you saying that, including me, the girls make up all five of the elements?" Tsunade grinned. "You catch on fast. I feel it would be the easiest way to teach them since they know you. If you succeed in teaching them, you could form your own team. You could even name it The Elemental Five if you wanted."

Sakura looked incredulous. _This is more than I bargained for, but it would be exciting to teach them the skill they need. We could show the guys how much we improved. _Sakura looked back up at Tsunade. "If you don't mind my asking, who exactly has what element?" "Let's see. I believe Tenten has the earth element. You know Temari has the air element. Hinata calms the water, and Ino controls lightning. You, of course, have control of all of the elements, but fire is your strongest one." Mixed with their, and your, elements, you could be invincible." Sakura thought about this. _Wow, my own team. Tsunade's right with a little bit of all attack elements we could kick some butt! I better not look too excited about this; Tsunade might think I'm doing it just for more power. I must continue to look professional._ "When should I ask them Tsunade-shishou?" "Right now if you like, they should be done rebuilding for the day." Sakura nodded and left.

She found the girls, minus Temari, at Ichiraku's. She would be surprised that Naruto wasn't there with them, but he had to rest after yesterday's events. "Hey Forehead girl, where have you been?" Ino asked. The other girl's were all looking at Sakura to. "I had to help out in the hospital. There is something I want to talk to you all about." They looked at each other then back to Sakura. "What's wrong Sakura?" Tenten asked. "Nothing bad, in fact I think you might find it interesting." She then proceeded to tell them all that Tsunade told her. She told them about her teaching Ino and training all of the girls with their elements. They looked dumbfounded. "R...really I...I didn't know I had my own e...element." Hinata stuttered. "Me neither, hey Sakura when are you going to train us? I look forward to having medic nin training to." Ino exclaimed. "I start training you, Ino, tomorrow. Be at the hospital laboratory at six-o-clock sharp." "Six? Man, forehead girl, you sure are mean." Sakura glared. "You want to learn don't you Ino pig?" She looked at the others without waiting for a response. "I will start training you to learn how to control your chakra element when I call Temari and she gets here. I will contact you in about four days. That should be long enough for Temari to get here. Ino, I will see you in the morning when?" "Six-o-clock sharp" Ino grumbled. "Good, goodbye." "Bye" they all said. Sakura then disappeared in a whirl of cherry blossoms.

That night she performed the summoning jutsu and sent one her small messenger dragons to Sunagakure. She would have sent Saphira, since she is her favorite dragon, but she was too big. Temari should be sending her a response back at nine tomorrow. That gives her two and a half hours with Ino and a half hour to get back home. Sakura sighed. She couldn't wait until then. She wanted to train her fellow girl's how to fight a little better. Ino would help her out to, if she learned the hard stuff. She already knew the basics. Yawning, Sakura got ready for bed. She fell asleep instantly, as she was tired out from the last two days. Tomorrow was going to be another busy day. Hopefully it would be a little better though.

If she had stayed awake a little bit longer she would have noticed a figure appear and look at her through the window. He would not be there long. He was just seeing how much she had changed. He could not see well from where he was though so his eyes changed. They were black, but they were now a brilliant red.


	7. Chapter 7: Her Friends

**Chapter 7 here! Constructive criticism is something I can take.**

**I don't own Naruto. **

Chapter Seven: Her Friends

It was 5:58 a.m. Two minutes before Ino was due to arrive. Sakura sat in the rafters hoping to surprise her when she came in. All her medical stuff was laid out on one of the lab tables. Sakura sighed, two minutes sure did seem like a long time when you wanted to surprise somebody, and teaching Ino was going to be hard work. She didn't have to wait much longer though, because just then, Ino came in the door, slightly out of breath. "Are you happy Forehead girl, I got here just in t..." She stopped, looking around. She did not see Sakura anywhere, but her stuff was on the table. _Did she step out for something? _She thought, confused. Up in the rafters Sakura grinned. She knew just the thing to scare the wits out of the pig. When Ino was occupied with looking at the medical stuff Sakura silently hopped down and went right behind Ino. She shut her eyes for a moment, letting her chakra run to them, and when she opened them again they were her creepy, yellow eyes with slits for pupils. Grinning even wider, Sakura tapped Ino on the shoulder with her finger.

Ino felt a tap on her shoulder. She felt Sakura's presence and she turned around. There, staring at her were two yellow eyes. It was silent for a second or two and then Ino screamed. "AHHHHHHH GET AWAY GET AWAY I DON'T WANT TO BE EATEN!" Flailing her arms she succeeded in knocking Sakura to the ground. Laughing, she let the chakra disappear from her eyes. "Ha ha ha! Ino you should have seen your face!" Ino glared at the still giggling Sakura. "That wasn't funny Sakura. You almost gave me a heart attack!" Stifling her giggles Sakura looked up at her. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. You always get scared by me. You should know better by now." Ino harrumphed and looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. Sighing, Sakura stood up and brushed herself off. "Alright, fun's over. It's time to get down to business." She walked to the other side of the table and looked at Ino. She was still sulking. Sakura cocked her head. "Do you want me to scare you into learning this or are you going to do it yourself?" "I'll do it myself." Ino finally said. She turned around and looked at Sakura, cocking an eyebrow. "Right, let's get to work, and remember Ino, after you learn how to heal major wounds, the real work begins." Ino gulped.

Two and a half hours later Sakura was walking back to her house. _That went pretty well for Ino's first time healing an animal._ Ino had succeeded in reviving a hurt bird, and it flew off. Ino was pretty excited about that and she would not stop talking about it. Speaking of birds, when Sakura got to her room, there was one on her windowsill with a letter in its mouth. _It must be Temari's reply! _Hurriedly Sakura put her stuff down and retrieved the letter from the bird. It flew off, squawking. Sitting down on her bed Sakura read Temari's letter.

**Sakura,**

**It's been so long since I've spoken to you. I'm doing all right, mostly learning new jutsu and trying to keep Gaara or the Kazekage in your case, from killing Kankuro. He won't seem to stop teasing Gaara about something unknown to me. Humph, oh well, I'll find out eventually. Actually I want to thank you for providing me with an excuse to come to Konoha. I would love to be on your team with the other girls. I suppose you will receive this around nine something. I should be at the Konoha gates by noon tomorrow evening. I know I know, you usually don't expect me that soon, but I left right after I sent the bird with this letter. I just can't wait for more training! I look forward to training under you ****_Haruno-sensei_****_._**** See you and the other's soon! **

**Temari No-Subaku**

Sakura felt giddy. Tomorrow she could start training her fellow kunoichi's in the art of chakra control. It was sooner than she expected, so she decided to go find the girls and tell them training would be set earlier than planned. She went to all their houses, and any places they might be but she could not find them anywhere. _Weird, I was just with Ino, how could she disappear this quick? _Sakura thought about it some more. _They're not in their houses so that must mean they are together somewhere. Now that I think about it, there is still some repairing going on the mountain. Perhaps I should look there. _With that thought in mind, Sakura sped off on rooftops to her destination. Sure enough, when she got there, there they were. They were trying to lift a heavy log that used to keep water from running down into the village. It didn't look like they were having much luck. _That's another thing I've got to teach them. _Sakura thought, and walked up to them.

"Need any help?" The girl's all looked at her. "Sakura, what are you doing here, aren't you in the hospital by this time?" asked Tenten. Sakura shook her head. "I didn't have to help out today. I was teaching Ino remember?" She then walked up to the log and lifted it as easily as if it were a sack of feathers. She took it to the edge of the mountain and sealed it there with some of her chakra bindings. It was strong enough to keep the log from moving anymore. With that done, she wiped her hands together and looked back toward the girls. They were all gaping at her. "What? It's not like you haven't seen me lift heavy stuff before." Ino shook her head to wake herself up. "We know that, but it's still shocking to see you pick up about a thousand pound log that three people can't pick up all by yourself." "What did you come up here for anyway?" Sakura grinned.

"Ah, about that…Temari sent me a letter." The girls" eyes widened again, and they all rushed to her. "W...what did she s..say?" Hinata asked. Sakura told them, and then showed them the letter as if to prove it. "Wow, tomorrow? This is wonderful; I get to see Temari again!" Ino shouted. "Yeah, just don't start fighting with her over Shikamaru again." Tenten told her. Ino glared. "I do not like Shikamaru!" The other three raised their eyebrows at her. "I didn't ask you that." Tenten said smugly. Ino, realizing her mistake, flushed a deep red. Chuckling Sakura turned around to view her village. From this height she could see everything. It was quickly being restored to its old glamour, maybe even better. Sakura sighed. She did not know what to do with herself now that she did not have anything to do until tomorrow. It was only ten-o-clock, and if she wasn't careful, she might start daydreaming about Sasuke again. That wouldn't help her concentrate at all tomorrow, so she asked, once again. "Need any help?"

Apparently, they did need her help. They kept her going until nine that night. Tired and sore, Sakura trudged home, wishing to take a shower. Hopefully she would be revived in time in the morning to go meet Temari at the gates. Before she could get home though, a voice called out to her. "Sakura-chan!" It was Naruto, waving her over from Ichiraku's. _Oh well, it's nice to see Naruto out of bed rest, and I am a little hungry. _Changing her direction, she trudged over to Naruto and sat down beside of him. "I would like one miso ramen please." She told Ayame. Turning to Naruto she smiled. It seemed for once he didn't have anything to say. He just wanted her company, and slurping...or should I say inhaling, his ramen didn't help much either. Turning her chopsticks around her bowl that was just set in front of her, she started eating.

Naruto had asked her what was going on, and in between bites, Sakura told him everything. From her fight with Konan to the training she was about to give to Hinata and the other girls. Naruto's eyes widened when she came to the part about Sasuke and he started yelling. Sakura had to try to quite him down before he caused a commotion. "I'm fine Naruto, it was just a bit of a shock to me that's all, and besides I declined the offer." Naruto's head lowered. "Yeah, but it would have been nice to bash that teme's head in though." Sakura's look saddened. Naruto always thought of Sasuke as a brother, and it killed him as much as it did her, when he left. It was even more of a blow to him when they saw Sasuke again two years ago. Sakura hugged him and tried to cheer him up. "It'll be all right Naruto, I'm sure you'll get the chance someday, maybe even sooner than you think. Besides, you still have me here to bash _your _head in don't you?" Naruto grinned. "You're right Sakura, what am I moping about?"

He looked down at his ten bowls of ramen and looked back up at Sakura sheepishly. Scratching the back of his head he said, "Heh heh, hey Sakura, do you mind paying for these? I don't have enough money." Sakura glared at him. Naruto started sweating. "Heh, see ya around Sakura, gotta go!" He left. Sakura yelled. "Naruto you baka!"

After emptying her allowance paying for her and Naruto's ramen Sakura was once again trudging home. She tried to get her annoyance with Naruto out of her head by thinking about that shower again. She finally unlocked the door to her house and went in. She stopped. There was something that woke her up more than that shower. She felt unfamiliar chakra, someone was in her house. Cautiously, she tiptoed up to her room with a kunai in her hand. She opened her door, and raised her kunai quickly, but before she threw it, she stopped. There, sitting on her bed, was the last person she expected. The person looked at her. "Hello Sakura...you miss me?"


	8. Chapter 8: The Wind of Change

**Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto!**

**Note: The person is not who you think it is!**

Chapter Eight: The Wind of Change

Sakura stood there for a good ten seconds, just staring at the intruder on her bed. The kunai was still in her outstretched hand. Slowly she lowered it, but did not put it up in case it was a trick. There, sitting cross legged on her bed, with her own kunai spinning in her hand, was Temari. She grinned. "Registering by the shock on your face, I would say you are surprised to see me. You also missed me, I can tell. Well, I certainly missed you, that's why I rushed to get here earlier than I said I would." Temari cocked her head at Sakura's stony expression, and then her eyes turned mischievous. "Who were you expecting? Your dear _Sasuke-Kun_?" That woke Sakura up. "How dare you! Coming in and plopping down on my bed in the middle of the night unannounced, and while I'm not here either! Also, I was not expecting that Uchiha, I'm over him!"

Temari burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha ha. As if! You should have seen your face when I said that!" Still giggling she reached behind her and pulled out her big fan. "Here can you put this up for me. I don't want it to get bent." Sakura sweat dropped, face still red. _Sheesh, how can she be laughing one minute and be all serious the next? It's like she has a multiple personality disorder. Where did that fan come from anyways, it's so huge! _Sighing Sakura took the fan and placed it in a safe corner with her weapons. Hearing a sound Sakura turned back around. She sweat dropped again. Temari was already snoring away on her bed. Shaking her head, she went up to her and pulled the covers around her. _She did have a long trip. Running at high speed here didn't help matters either. _She finally took a quick shower, and fell asleep on a futon. She would surprise the girls tomorrow.

**Bang! Clang! **Sakura fell out of her futon. _What the heck is that noise? _Getting up she followed the sound into the kitchen. Sakura's eyes widened. It looked like a tornado had gone through it. The walls were covered in flour and egg yolk, the floor was flooded around the sink, and the stove looked like it was boiling over. The countertop did not look much better either. Looking past all that, she found the source of the commotion. Temari was banging pots and pans together trying to find the one that she wanted. She looked up. "Oh, good morning Sakura, do you happen to have a pan larger than this? I'm trying to fix some breakfast." Sakura cocked an eyebrow. _What would she need with a pan that is larger than my biggest one, is she trying to cook an elephant? _"Temari." She looked at Sakura. "Yes?" "You don't know how to cook do you?"

Temari glared. "At least try it first!" She thrust the egg pan under her nose. Sakura went cross eyed. Sighing she picked up an egg and gingerly placed it in her mouth, and chewed. She tried to cover her grimace when she swallowed it. It tasted like rubber. Rubbing the back of her head she said. "I'm sorry Temari, but cooking is not your strong point. At least you know how to defend yourself in a fight." Temari's head drooped. "You don't like them? Gaara and Kankuro don't either. They actually throw up." Looking back up at Sakura she smiled. "Oh well, at least I tried. I'll clean this kitchen up and then we'll go meet the others." Sakura nodded. "From now on, I'll make breakfast." They went to work. Temari started cleaning while Sakura did the cooking. Her pancakes tasted pretty good. After the kitchen was clean and they ate, they went out to see the girls.

A few minutes later Temari and Sakura were both lying under a pile of excited girls. "When did you get here Temari?!" Screamed Ino. "Yeah, we weren't expecting you until later!" Tenten exclaimed. Sakura huffed. "You can ask questions as soon as you get off of me!" They did not listen. They were to busy fussing over Temari. Sakura just plopped down resigned to her fate. Speaking of fate, the one who talks about it the most grabbed her hand and pulled her out. Huffing, she looked at the person who rescued her. It was Neji. Shikamaru was there with him. "Thank you Neji, I was thinking I was going to be squished like a bug." Neji cocked an eyebrow. "You're welcome…what is going on here by the way?" Sakura looked over at the still squabbling girls. "They are excited because their long lost friend, Temari, came for her training." Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag."

The stampede finally broke up. _About time, _Sakura thought. _I never knew they could get so excited about Temari showing up. _Walking over to them, with the two guys in tow she asked. "Are you just about finished?" Hinata nodded sheepishly. "H...hai, and he...hello N...Neji, Sh...Shikamaru." They nodded to her. "Shika! What are you doing here?" Ino shouted when she saw him. Shikamaru winced. "I came to see what all the commotion was about, and don't call me Shika you troublesome woman!" Ino turned red. "What did you call me?!" Tenten and Temari went between them. "All right, break it up you guys; we don't need a fight right now." Tenten told them. "Yeah, I just got here." Temari said. They huffed and looked away. Sakura stood against a wall with her arms crossed. "Can we start now?" "Shikamaru, Neji, you need to leave."

Three weeks later the girls were showing progress. Sakura taught them all that she knew, and they even said she was the best sensei they ever had. Sakura blushed at this. She continued teaching Ino her medic nin classes along with controlling her chakra element during those three weeks. Temari didn't have very much more to learn about her air element, and Tenten was already making the earth move. What made Sakura mad though, was that Ino purposely used her lightning element to set her hair on fire. Hinata then had to put it out with a water jutsu, resulting in Sakura being soaking wet. All in all she was proud of her "students". They were coming along well, and she even told them that they would make a killer team. They were sad when Sakura told them that she had nothing more to teach them. They would continue learning more themselves since they knew the basics.

It was two weeks after she finished training them that she heard a knock on her door. She wasn't expecting anybody so she wondered who it could be. When she opened the door she got a pleasant surprise. Her new teammate, Sai, was standing there with an actual real smile on his face. "Hello hag, how are you." "Sai! I'm so glad to see you. I'm doing great, why don't you come on in." Sai went in and Sakura shut the door behind him. She followed him to the living room and sat down across from him on the couch. "This is a surprise, what brings you here?" Sakura asked. "Well, I'm not here to see you if that's what your thinking, hag." Sakura glared. "Get on with it, and don't call me hag! How many times have I told you that?" She reached over and bonked his head. Sai winced and rubbed his head. "You have told me way too many times to count."

Sighing he lowered his hand. "Actually, I was sent here to get you by Tsunade. She wants us both in her office pronto." Sakura's brow furrowed. "What could she want us for?" Sai shrugged. "She probably wants us for a mission." Sakura became even more confused. "But, if it was a mission why just us...what about Naruto, Kakashi, and Yamato?" Sai shook his head. "Don't ask me; ask her, she's the one who called us there." Sakura looked down, thinking. _I don't mind going on a mission, if that's what it is. It's been so long since I've been out of the village and I have nothing else to do. Why would she want just me and Sai though? Oh well, guess I have to find out from her. Speaking of Tsunade, she will be mad if she has to wait too long. _Looking back up at Sai, who was watching her, she told him, "Alright, I'll go with you, I have nothing better to do anyway." Sai nodded and they hopped off to Tsunade's.

When they got there, Sakura knocked on the door. "Enter" came Tsunade's voice. They went in and stood in front of her desk. "I suppose you're wondering why I sent you two here without the other three." Sakura cocked an eyebrow. _Can she read minds? _"I am sending you two on a mission, but it's not really a mission. You will understand when I explain. The two looked at Tsunade expectantly. She smiled. "As a reward for Sakura training the girls so well, I decided to let her have a five week break from everything." Sakura's eyes widened. "Five weeks?!" "Hai, and I want Sai to go along with you so you don't decide to stay there longer, or get hurt. He was the best choice because he won't question you like the other three. I know you miss your family, so I decided to let you go to the Elemental Village."

Sakura stood there, shell-shocked. _Go visit my family? Go back to the Elemental village where I was born? I wonder how much the others have changed. It's only been two and a half years since I last saw them, but things can change. Me, go back to see my parents, my sisters and my brothers? This is the best thing that Tsunade could have given me...even if it is just for five weeks. _When she finally looked back up at Tsunade, she had tears in her eyes. "Sniff, thank you so much Tsunade, you don't know how much this means to me." She smiled at her warmly. She had nothing else to say. Sakura turned to Sai. "Now I know why she didn't sent Naruto or the others. You are the best person to come with me." Sai almost blushed. She smiled. "Well Sai, it looks like were going on a trip tomorrow." "I can't wait Ugly." Sakura was too happy to even hit him.


	9. Chapter 9: Forest Travels

**I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter Nine: Forest Travels

Sai walked up to the gate early the next morning. Sakura was already there, and looked as if she was going to jump out of her socks. "It's about time you got here. I've been waiting for an hour!" Sai yawned. "I'm glad you're excited to see your family, but, I didn't plan on waking up at four in the morning." Sakura huffed. "Well, now that you're here can we get going?" "Why would I just stand at a gate for an hour if I was going somewhere, hag?" Sakura glared and bonked him on the head. "I told you not to call me hag!" Sai rubbed his head and groaned. _It's too early in the morning for this. _"All right, all right, I call a truce. Shall we go?" Sakura glared at him some more, but nodded. "That's what I was waiting to hear." They made sure they had all their stuff and jumped onto the nearest tree together and sped off.

After about fifteen minutes of hopping Sai woke up enough to realize something. They hadn't gone through the main gate. He looked around. They were going through a dark and very old forest. The trees were gnarled and he saw strange creatures leering at them with red eyes. He looked down fast enough to dodge an oncoming booby trap. _Why are there traps in this for...wait a minute I know where we are! _He looked ahead. "Um, Sakura, why are we going through the Forest of Death?" "Because, it's faster getting to the village this way, and since I didn't kill every single one of the Akatsuki, they are going to be after my blood. They won't expect me to go through the back." Sakura glanced back at Sai out of the corner of her eye. "Why, are you scared?" Sai huffed. "No" Sakura grinned. "Good, because there is nothing scarier in this forest than me." _I can just about agree with that. _Sai thought.

An hour later, after getting through the death trap, they were finally back on open road. Well, as open as you wanted it to be. They were going through another, but safer, forest. "Are we going to be traveling through a forest the whole trip there?" "Hai, didn't I tell you? My village is hidden behind a dense forest. Not many can find it." Her face went grim. "Although _someone _must have tipped people off about it. Not many people outside of Konoha are fond of the Haruno's. They think we have too much power." Sai lowered his head. He remembered her telling him about the intrusion that killed some of her people. He didn't want to get into it so he tried to cheer her up. "You know I still love you, hag." It worked. Sakura started laughing. "Whatever Sai, it doesn't matter anyways, I already killed Konan, so she can't tell people about it anymore. Besides, I trust you." Sai smiled a true smile.

"You might as well get used to the forest, because we are going to go through about ten more in the course of two days." Sai groaned. Sakura smiled. "Hey, at least nobody can trail us through here." Sai just grunted. By nightfall, they had already covered two and half of another. They found a good spot to set up camp. Stroking the fire that he made, Sai waited for Sakura to get back from washing. They were having fish that night. _Oh well, at least it's better than ramen every night. _He thought back to several missions that he went on with Naruto. All he could think about was stuffing his face with ramen. Sai started chuckling. "What's so funny?" Sakura was back. "Nothing, just thinking how fish is better than ramen." It didn't take Sakura long to figure out what he was talking about. She started laughing with him. "After we eat I'll get the first shift." "Are you sure?" "I'm sure."

A while later Sakura was sitting in a tree looking out in the darkness. Sai had gone to sleep. She had lied about nobody being able to find them. Apparently someone had and she was just trying to appease Sai. She didn't know who it was; all she knew was that they had a powerful chakra, even if they stayed very far behind them. She first noticed it when she entered the second forest. She moved her hand to her back and felt to see if her Dragon Fire sword was still there. It was. It unnerved her that she couldn't tell if the person was friend or foe. He seemed to have stopped when they made camp and masked his chakra. Sakura didn't really want to leave Sai making that fire. She could not see him or feel him anywhere. She knew he was still out there somewhere though. Sakura decided she wouldn't get much sleep that night.

Sai met her up in the tree five hours later. "Why don't you go to sleep? I'll keep watch over our little shadow." Sakura's eyes widened. She thought she had hidden it. Sai raised an eyebrow at her expression. "I'm a ninja; don't think I didn't feel it to." Sakura sighed and nodded. "Be careful, if you see anything wake me immediately." Sai nodded. "I will." Sakura hopped down from the tree and went inside the tent. _Well, so much for trying to hide it. I should have known better. I just hope he will be okay; he doesn't seem strong enough to fight this powerful person on his own. _Sakura looked back out the tent. Sai was sitting cross-legged in the tree and painting. Sakura sweat dropped and brought her head back inside. _Oh, he'll be fine, the emotionless painter. _Sakura shook her and fell asleep instantly.

Two days later, they were getting closer to her village. They could still feel the person following them but they never saw him, or her. They decided to let the person follow them as long as they didn't attack. For all they knew it could be a Black Ops ANBU following them to make sure nothing happened to them. If that was the case though, it must be a new one, because trained ANBU's were untraceable. Trying to forget about it was the best thing they could do at this time. They were already so close to the village. Sakura saw something familiar and smiled. "Hey Sai?" "Hai?" "Do you see that wall up ahead?" Sai looked. He did indeed see a tall wooden structure looming through the trees. He could also see a big white circle painted on it. "The gate to your village, I assume?" Sakura nodded. "Let's go!" They went faster.

A few minutes later they were standing in front of the gate. It must have been thirty feet high. "Who goes there?" They looked up. There was a guard staring down at them from the top. "My name is Sakura Haruno and this is my friend, Sai, we are here to see my family." The guard's eyes lit up. "Sakura, _the _Sakura Haruno? Is it really you?" Sakura smiled. "Long time, no see, Raiford. I almost didn't recognize you." "Me either, come on in!" He opened the gates. Sakura thanked him and walked inside. She felt a sense of relief she hadn't felt in a long time. "Sai, welcome to my home, the Elemental Village." Sai looked around. It was bustling with people and the sign of the Haruno's was everywhere. _It looks like this place has been restored since the incident ten years ago. _Sai smiled. "This is a very nice village Sakura."

Everywhere they walked, Sakura saw old friends again. Many of them came up to her and hugged the daylights out of her. Some of them walked with them and would not stop talking. They talked about how they missed her, how much she had changed, and how she was a hero to them. They were very nice people, but it was getting a little too noisy for Sai. Apparently Sakura thought the same. "Yes, thank you, thank you, it's very nice to see you all again too. I would kind of like to get to my home sometime though." They understood and dispersed as quickly as they came. They continued on to a tall mansion that Sakura claimed to be her old home. Sai was a little intimidated by the size. They walked through the gate and knocked on the door. Sakura felt like she had butterflies in her stomach. The door opened and her house maid stood there. She gasped. "Sakura!" Sakura smiled. "Hello Mindy, it's nice to see you again too."


	10. Chapter 10: Her Family

**Ten Chapters already…anyway, I don't own Naruto!**

Chapter Ten: Her Family

"Come in, come in." Mindy said. "There's no need for you to stand outside of your own home, waiting to be ushered in!" Sakura smiled sheepishly, and stepped into the mansion. "I'll bring your family down in just a few minutes." "Thank you, Mindy." Mindy scurried upstairs. Sakura looked around the lobby. It seemed that nothing had changed. The pictures of her family were still hanging in the same place on the walls. The marbled floor looked as clean and shiny as ever. She walked into the ballroom with a nostalgic feeling. She could remember when her father tried to teach her how to dance. She was woken up from her daydream by Sai. "This is a nice place. I could get used to living here." Sakura scowled. "I know you could, but don't get used to it. We're only staying here for five weeks, and this isn't your house anyway." Sai grunted. Sakura suddenly thought of something. "If you even so much as call me hag in front of my family, I will throttle you once we are alone." Sai's eyes widened. "Hai, hai no need to be so mean."

Sakura didn't have a chance to retort. They could hear footsteps and rumbling voices coming towards them. Sai gulped, and Sakura got butterflies in her stomach again. Five people walked through the door. They stopped talking and stared dumbstruck at who was in front of them. Their little pause gave Sakura, and Sai time to see how they looked.

Sakon was the same age as her. He almost looked just like her too. His pink hair was styled in a way that made him look cool, instead of like a funny boy with pink hair. His green eyes always held a mischievous glint inside of them, but Sakura hoped it would always stay there. His red tank top held the Haruno symbol on the back. His white shorts came to just below his knees. A black phoenix was on his neck, with its long tail snaking around his arm and across his back. Sakon was the phoenix of the Haruno family. His tattoo turned light blue when he transformed.

Her older brother, Sardon, was the black cat. It was normally invisible to the general public because it was on his back. His tattoo turned ebony. Sardon was the silent, brooding one in the family. He also had a lot of fan girls. His skin was a shade paler than Sakura, and Sakon's. His forest green eyes could pierce right through you. His long silvery, white hair was always in a ponytail down his back. Sakura knew some girls who would kill to see his hair undone in all its glory, and run their fingers through it. He was two inches taller, and had a lean body. That body was from the courtesy of all his training as a cat. His black button down shirt was open, showing his abs. Tight black pants with yellow scratch marks through them, and some black boots accentuated his long legs. Make him mad, and he'll act just like his little dragon of a sister.

Sakura didn't get along with her only sister, Satire, too well. Ever since Satire claimed that she did not believe that Konan was evil, she held a grudge against her younger sister. Now that Konan tried to kill her, she refuses to give in, and tries to ignore Sakura all together. Satire is as girly as they come. Her attitude around boys can make her seem as mischievous as Sakon. She doesn't like to fight. She has a tattoo on her leg that turns dark brown when she does have to fight. She is the wild boar. Satire was born a few months after Sardon. Her long hair is more white than silver. She is the only one who inherited her mothers light gray eyes. She chose to wear very short clothes, much to her parents dismay.

Their mother, Sapphire, is not a Haruno, so she doesn't have the kekkei genkai. She is still a strong woman however. Her light gray eyes could melt someone's heart when she looked at you kindly, or scare the wits out of you if she glared. Her temper could get the best of her sometimes. She wore her medium length pink hair in a bun on top of her head. All in all she was a beautiful woman who loved all her children dearly, no matter what happens. She had slight wrinkles from age, and wore the typical robes of a head Haruno.

Her father was a different matter. Mufasa was difficult to please. He had short, shaggy, silver hair. His green eyed glare was the glare of a leader. He wore a black robe like shirt, with the Haruno symbol on the back. There was a mesh shirt peeking out from under that. He wore long, billowy, red pants that covered half of his black sandals. On his chest, there resided a tattoo that turned orange when he activated it. Mufasa was the lion. He rarely ever smiled, and when he did it was more of a smirk. He never showed it, but he loved his children just as much as his wife did. He was the one who pushed them to their limits, trying to help them live up to their name. Mufasa always told them that there was room for improvement. Sakura, especially, tried hard to please him, but it never seemed to work. He was the one who erased her memories for a time and told her to leave to a safe place, far away, when the incident happened ten years ago.

Sai and Sakura took in all this in a few seconds. Sai gulped and started sweating taking in the look of Sakura's family. They all looked very intimidating to him. _Now I see where Sakura got her good looks and fiery temper from. She is fit to be the next leader of this village. What am I even doing here?_ While Sai was musing, Sakon ran over to his sister and enveloped her in a tight hug. "Sakura, I'm so glad you're back! How have you been? Did you miss us?" Sakura laughed and hugged him back. "I'm doing all right, and of course I missed you, baka! I missed all of you."

Sakura let go of him and looked at the rest of her family. Sardon and her father both nodded at her, with faint smiles on their faces. Her mother glided over to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Welcome home, my darling." She said. Sakura started to tear up, and hugged her mom back tightly. Satire stood back with a strange look in her eyes. She walked over and awkwardly placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura looked up, surprised. Satire's bangs covered her eyes. Suddenly she said, in a small voice. "Will you forgive me?" Sakura's eyes widened. "Huh?" Satire sighed. "I understand now that...that Konan wasn't what I thought her to be. When I heard that she had joined the Akatsuki, and almost killed you, I didn't know what to think. I hadn't saw you in years, and I don't know what I would do if I could never look you in the eyes again. I'm sorry for treating you badly all these years, and I want to make it up to you. Will you forgive me?"

Sakura saw that she was crying, and she really started crying herself. "I forgive you." Satire cried harder and gave her the tightest hug of all. Sai sighed. "All right, enough with the crying spree already. Did you forget about me Sakura?" Sakura blushed and wiped the tears from her face. "Sorry Sai, I just got caught up with my emotions. Sai, this is my parents, Sardon, Satire, and Sakon." She pointed at each on in turn. "Guys this is Sai, he is a good friend of mine who was sent with me, and he is also one of my teammates." Sai tried to bow to them. Sapphire waved him off. "No need to bow down to us. A friend of Sakura's is a friend of ours, and we don't do formalities with them." She smiled. Sai blushed.

After all the introductions were over, they all sat down to dinner. Sakura told them about her adventures and that she could only stay for five weeks. She was surprised to learn that Satire had decided to settle down with someone. She thought she was still as wild and crazy as a boar. Sardon is still trying to keep fan girls at bay, so they would not tear up anymore of his clothes. Sakura laughed at this and Sardon bonked her on the head. Sakon was still getting in trouble with the neighbors, and her parents were going on, as strong and steady as ever. They showered Sai with questions that he did not even have time to answer. Sakura looked over at her father. He was being more silent than usual. She then realized that he was looking at her. "Is there something you need, father?" She still tries to please him, even today. Mufasa nodded. "I want you to come with me to the training ground tomorrow. I'd like to see how you've improved." Sakura's eyes widened. _Yes! Finally, a chance to show him what I can do! _She was jumping up and down on the inside, but she stayed calm on the outside. "Very well then. I will meet you at five-o-clock tomorrow morning." She grinned. "Prepare to be pulverized."


End file.
